Atlantic International Partnership Headlines:Facebook: Now Serving Over 500 Million Users and 346 Billion Ads

On his Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg explains that his social networking site is fashioning a more open world where people can “share what’s important to them.” Increasingly, the world’s advertisers are also leveraging the platform to share what’s important to them–to the tune of 346 billion display ad impressions in the first quarter of 2011.
ComScore is reporting today that Facebook doubled the number of ads it delivered during the same period last year and crushed all other online publishers, serving a whopping one in three online ads in the U.S. Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, and Google rounded out the top five (AOL’s display advertising, in fact, has been a bright spot in the company’s otherwise dismal financial performance). The ranks of the top online advertisers were dominated by finance and telecom: AT&T finished first, followed by the credit information company Experian, the online trading and investing company Scottrade, the accounting software company Intuit, and Verizon (we were surprised the acai berry people didn’t make the cut). In all, America’s internet users were flooded with over one trillion ads during the quarter.
Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch explains that Facebook’s strong performance doesn’t necessarily mean the company is stealthily transforming social networking into a blaring billboard. Facebook’s growing popularity allows it serve more ads on more pages, Schonfeld notes, and the company is also experimenting with social ads that look more like News items shared by friends.

Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Stock Market News for May 4, 2011

On Tuesday, markets felt the pinch of disappointing quarterly results and the benchmarks slid a few points as investors feared profitability might drop over the coming quarters. Over the past couple of weeks, markets have remained upbeat, climbing to multi-year highs following robust corporate results. Additionally, a drop in crude prices weighed down the energy sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was the only gainer among the benchmarks as it edged up 0.2% to 12,807.51. The Standard & poor 500 dropped 0.3% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.8% to settle at 1,356.62 and 12,807.51, respectively. After hitting its highest level in three years last week, the S&P 500 has now declined for two-straight days. On the New York Stock Exchange, composite volumes were at 4.5 billion shares. For every one stock that advanced on the NYSE, two stocks declined.
While earnings had been a favorable factor for the markets over the past few weeks, the markets had to suffer the flip side as companies posted lower-than-expected results yesterday. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Analyst Report) (2.8%) was one of the biggest laggards for the Dow as it failed to beat sales estimates. Joining the list of disappointing results were companies like Clorox Corporation (NYSE:CLX – Analyst Report), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP – Analyst Report), Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH – Snapshot Report) and Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD – Analyst Report). These shares dropped 3.6%, 6.0%, 5.0% and 9.9%, respectively.
Pfizer Inc. posted a heavily disappointing result. Earnings for the quarter managed to top estimates but shares slid significantly as the drug major failed to cross revenue estimates. Moreover, the company also lowered its revenue guidance. Pfizer Inc. reported first quarter earnings of 60 cents per share, flat from the year-ago period. First quarter revenues declined 0.4% to $16.5 billion. Shares were down 2.8% and finally closed at $20.44.
Meanwhile, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Analyst Report) reported revenues of $1.37 billion in the first quarter of 2011, up 42.9% year over year and up 4.6% sequentially. Net income came in at $208.3 million or 67 cents per diluted share compared to a net income of $151.5 million or 49 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.  Cognizant Technology’s figures managed to beat estimates but its slowing growth rate dragged the shares down. The company’s shares dropped 5.75 to settle at $77.52.

Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: 2 Emerging-Market Mining Stocks to Buy

NEW YORK (InvestorPlace) — I was asked recently for a good reason why Southern Copper Corp.(SCCO_) was underperforming not just the price of copper, but also other huge copper mines like Freeport-McMoRan(FCX_).
The company-specific news flow certainly didn’t suggest that it should be massively trailing Freeport, especially since Southern had better reserves than Freeport. There were violent protests over a mine in Peru that resulted in a delay after the company had already invested serious money, but that wasn’t unusual. This happens in mining all the time, and it should have been mostly priced into the stock some time ago.
And then I saw the recent election results and I immediately understood — it was Peru itself.
The leftist candidate for Peru’s presidency, Ollanta Humala, won the biggest number of votes in the April 10 election and was leading the polls for the June 5 presidential runoff election. This is similar to what we saw in the 2006 election, as companies with huge exposure to Peru underperformed significantly.
Then, Humala campaigned “wearing red T-shirts and expressing admiration for Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez. This year, he’s donning business suits and vowing to expand ties with investor-favorite Brazil,” according to Bloomberg. The former army officer’s abrupt about-face has helped put him in first place in polls, and the outcome of the likely runoff is currently too close to call.

Related Article: Why Obama is doomed to be a one-term president

While investors want to see Peru go the direction of Brazil, a Latin American success story, there is fear that the country may go the way of Venezuela and Bolivia, which have been governed with a remarkable lack of pragmatism.
So investors are wary — and with good reason — that Humala may enter office wearing a suit, but he may still have those red shirts from 2006 in his closet.
If mining royalties rise and the state increases control of the country’s gas reserves, there is about $42 billion worth of foreign investment in the mining industry earmarked over the next 10 years that is at risk.

Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Who are Gaddafi’s on-screen supporters?

Mine has been the least glamorous part in helping cover the war in Libya – assisting correspondents in filing stories from the field and from monitored news reports.
Of course Reuters has reporters on both sides of the front line, but from Tunis I have been keeping an eye on Libyan television too – partly because it has scrolling headlines in English about the latest crusader, colonial and al Qaeda atrocities which might carry some news but also, I have to admit, from a fascination with the procession of people voicing their support for the Brother Leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Not being an Arabic speaker, I can only gather a few words, but the raised voices make clear the emotion, often from Gaddafi’s Bab al Aziziyah compound itself.
Who are these Libyans and what do they really feel? Who are the people who bring young children on their shoulders to this repeatedly bombed compound, dressing them in bright green patriotic suits like little elves and hoisting them high while they thrust fists in the air?
Through the day the voices change – at one point a talk show host with improbably red hair discusses with participants sat in armchairs in the sunshine of the Mediterranean spring.
A succession of people take the microphone to voice their opinion – pretty much the same opinion. Sometimes they are teenagers, sometimes workers, sometimes in uniform, sometimes old men in sunglasses – always speaking quickly, loudly and angrily.
Do people get paid for their appearances or is it worth it for the few minutes of fame? Do they volunteer? Are they forced to do this?

Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Is Fox News Inflating The Turnout At Bachmann’s Latest Rally?

Fox & Friends Sunday repeatedly touted the “thousands” that attended a tax cut rally where Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke, going so far as to make the rally’s supposedly large turnout one of their top headlines today.
Yet according to Fox’s local affiliate, reporting from St. Paul, Minnesota, it was the rally’s low turnout that made it newsworthy. In an article titled “Hundreds Attend Anti-Tax Hike Rally At Capitol: Turnout Significantly Smaller Than Last Year’s,” Fox 9 News reported:

Hundreds gathered at the Minnesota Capitol to rally against a possible tax hike, but though it attracted the attention of some prominent lawmakers, the turnout didn’t meet expectations.
[...]
Organizers said that about 6,000 people turned out for last year’s event, but this year the headcount may have only touched 1,000.

Politico also noted the rally’s “sparse attendance” and highlighted the comments of a conservative blogger:

The [Tax Day] rally’s sparse attendance is attracting nearly as much attention as Bachmann’s remarks.
Will Folks, a widely read blogger in South Carolina political circles, termed the rally a “dud” in a post Monday afternoon.
“Politicians, political operatives and members of the media came close to outnumbering attendees at a much-hyped Columbia, S.C., tea party rally starring U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday,” Folks wrote.
“Only 300 people (including a horde of Palmetto political operatives) attended the event in downtown Columbia, S.C. – which is a generous estimate in our book. That attendance figure – confirmed by other media outlets – amounts to less than one-tenth the size of multiple crowds that have gathered at the S.C. State House in recent years in support of parental choice.”

Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Will ‘The Donald’ get the spotlight back from Obama?

Donald Trump, who doesn’t hesitate to make painfully blunt remarks, sort of got overlooked during the past week, and will have to work diligently to recover his popularity.
Trump’s speedy ascent to the top in Republican polls with a signature pompous capture of media attention that surprised the political world, is now at risk.   Many have sneered at the idea that he is serious about his presidential expectations. Now, he will have to pick himself up, brush himself off and get back into the fight.
The killing of Osama bin Laden, and the success of Barack Obama’s administration have drawn attention away from other candidates, as well as Trump.  Since Trump was so loudly vocal on the subject of “the birth certificate,” the impact of Obama’s success was even more devastating to him.  During the time when Obama’s birth certificate was receiving so much attention and he made the statement stating he had “other things to do,” the world wasn’t aware Obama was referring to the planning of a daring raid by helicopter, to destroy a “most-wanted” terrorist and murderer.
It is no surprise that Obama leads Trump by a hefty percentage in a “Newsweek/Daily Beast poll” taken after the mission to get bin Laden. Trump’s popularity dropped considerably as 64% of the people polled expressed negative feelings about him.
At the “White House Correspondents” Dinner, Trump was roasted to an embarrassingly great extent, and SNL also referred to Trump as a joke. These events inferred that he was not serious in his pursuit of the presidential position.  Trump has avoided speaking publicly since the death of bin Laden, except for congratulating President Obama and he gave no response to a request for an interview, as well as canceling TV appearances.
Who knows how The Donald will overcome this hurdle and how or if, he will respond to the claims revealed by NY1 cable station, saying he never voted in primary elections for a period of 21 years;  the information that he disclosed about a high draft lottery number keeping him from fighting in Vietnam, which was found to be debatable, if not untrue; the “Smoking Gun Website,” which stated a series of student deferments were received by Trump in college and then, after graduation, that he got a medical deferment?
Trump has a reputation for getting headlines.  All of these actions and reactions are proverbial fodder for the media.  This is not an indication, however, that Trump can steal the show again and seriously get himself back into the race for President, but the fact is, he certainly knows how to garner attention and news.
President Obama has now put himself in an enviable position – one that will be difficult to overcome.